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The Diplomat
25-07-2025
- Politics
- The Diplomat
Rabi Lamichhane, Nepal's Anti-system Star, Meets the System
Even by the colorful standards of Nepali politics, Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) Chair Rabi Lamichhane, 50, has led an eventful life. In the early 2000s, after dabbling in various radio and television roles in Nepal, he left the country in his early 20s to pursue higher studies in the United States. While in the U.S., he was reportedly involved in financial misconduct like tax evasion. Lamichhane returned to Nepal later that decade and joined a television network. In 2013, the ever-ambitious Lamichhane entered the Guinness Book of World Records by hosting the longest-broadcast talk show (his record has since been broken). After that, in 2016, he started a combative current affairs TV program that made him wildly popular, as he quickly mastered the art of dressing down senior politicians and bureaucrats live on camera. Then Lamichhane entered politics. Since founding his party, not a day has gone by without him being linked to this or that controversy – and now, he is in jail. Lamichhane founded the RSP just over three months before the November 2022 national elections. At its heart, the party is a one-man show, with populist slogans of anti-corruption and good governance as its central planks. Using his celebrity, Lamichhane tried to tap into the growing public antipathy toward Nepal's three major parties: the Nepali Congress, the Communist Party of Nepal-Unified Marxist-Leninist (CPN-UML) and the CPN Maoist Center. For a party with no ideology or organizational structure, the RSP did remarkably well in its electoral debut, winning 20 seats in the 275-member national parliament in 2022. Its candidates, relatively young and picked from across the professions, came as a breath of fresh air against the old parties and their tried-and-tested leaders. Then, in December 2022, the RSP got into the government and Lamichhane became the deputy prime minister and home minister. But he soon had to give up the post after he was found to be neck-deep in a controversy over dual citizenship. The court stripped him of his parliamentarian status. Yet he bounced back to be re-elected from the same constituency in a by-election, this time with an even bigger mandate, and in March 2024 again became the deputy prime minister and home minister. There was more drama to follow. He lost his ministerial berth when the Pushpa Kamal Dahal government collapsed in July 2024, soon after which he was taken into custody. Lamichhane has been implicated in the embezzlement of millions of rupees from various cooperatives and pumping the money into a television station where he once served as the managing director. To his critics, the legal evidence against him is overwhelming, enough to end his compromised political career. To his supporters, this beacon of hope for the new generation is being framed so that the traditional parties can continue to rule. In their reckoning, even the judiciary is biased and serves the old guard. Lamichhane himself admits to making some errors of judgment but maintains that he was not involved in any organized effort to transfer cooperative funds into his media company's accounts. The public is divided as five courts have charged him across as many districts, and the Supreme Court has upheld his custody. His supporters point out how those who have committed similar crimes in big parties have not been prosecuted. They argue that Lamichhane's real crime was that, as the home minister, he dared to investigate the financial conduct of powerful politicians from old parties. Most notably, there were rumors that the home minister was looking into the possible involvement of Arzu Rana Deuba, wife of five-time Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba, in a scam involving the sending of Nepali citizens to the U.S. in the guise of Bhutanese refugees. With Lamichhane in jail since April, the RSP is now in the middle of a signature campaign to build public pressure for his release. The party claims to have collected over 2.5 million signatures to date. The RSP appears determined to make the most of the jailing of Lamichhane, perhaps using the same controversy to rally voters in future elections. As with most populist forces around the world, Lamichhane's legal troubles do not seem to have decreased his support among his core voters, especially among the millions of Nepali migrant workers. Disillusioned with old parties, many Nepalis also reject regressive forces like the now-abolished monarchy, which also partly explains the RSP's support. The question is: Can this party, centered on a personality cult and without a binding ideology, survive their leader's prolonged stint behind bars? (There are no signs that Lamichhane will be released anytime soon.) The old parties and their old leaders face unprecedented scrutiny as people's yearning for change continues to grow. For their continued relevance, these parties must revitalize themselves by electing fresh leaders and come up with ideas that resonate with younger Nepalis. Otherwise they may be outmaneuvered even by a compromised populist like Rabi Lamichhane. He may be in jail, but the political vacuum that enabled his rise remains intact.
Times of Oman
10-02-2025
- Politics
- Times of Oman
Nepal tables bill to tab social media despite fear of censorship
Kathmandu: Nepal has moved forward with the controversial "Social Media Bill" despite claims of attempted censorship and curtailment of Freedom of Expression and Speech. Minister for Communications and Information Technology, Prithvi Subba Gurung tabled the Bill in the National Assembly on Sunday despite criticism from opposition and social media users. "In order to systematize, limit and for safety, formulation of special law for social media has been practiced all across the globe. In Nepal as well, development in field of Information Communication Technology (ICT), the use of social media is rising. Making right and proper application of social media, social harmony, cultural tolerance and promotion of good governance, by making the social media operators and users responsible by making it limited, secure and organized; to regulate it law is required," Minister Gurung said as he tabled the bill in the upper house. The Bill has proposed the provisions for license (with a two-year validity) for any companies, firms or institutions to operate digital platforms and renewal of the permission, granting the rights to authorities concerned to ban on the operation of such platforms and the remove the contents in violations of the terms and conditions. It has proposed conditions for the users of social sites as well. The opposition as well as the social media users have been claiming these provisions clandestinely attempt to impose censorship and curtail the basic human rights. Earlier, last week, former Education Minister and member of parliament from Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP), Sumana Shrestha dragged attention of government to discuss the bill with public before moving forward in meeting of the lower house of parliament. "While drafting the bills has there been any consultations and discussions with those whom it is meant for? It again has been proven, whether it is left, right or the center aligned that no one really cares what people want. I want the government to pay attention to this issue and request them to call the youths, talk with them and listen to the voice of people," Shrestha said. The bill has disapproved the social media contents capable of hurting the dignity of others, trolling, hate speech and distortion of information. Similarly, post, like, repost, live streaming, subscribe, comment, tag, hashtag or mention with wrong intention is liable to fine up to Nepali Rupees (NRs) 500 thousand to users of social sites. Debate has arisen over the provision fearing repercussions from the government and senior post officials as it intends to ban on satirical contents. "Now, by bringing the Social Media Regulation Bill, you are trying to legally control freedom of expression and press? Are you above the sovereignty of the citizen? Above the constitution? Are you the master and the citizens the slave? The bill currently registered in the parliament for the operation, use and regulation of social media is objectionable. In the name of regulating social media, it not only stifles the constitutional right of citizens to freedom of expression, but also controls the freedom of the press. In this bill, citizens are being threatened with imprisonment and fines step by step," Pushpa Kamal Dahal, former Prime Minister and Chairman of the opposition CPN-Maoist Center said addressing a meeting of the House of Representatives last week. The Clause 12 (H) of the introduced bill mandates users of social media to 'reveal their identity to the social media platforms in order to use the platform'. A section of the general public is hailing this clause as a step to ensure accountability for the effect of public opinions shared on social media while others are criticizing it for raging head-on against the people's right to privacy. Similarly, Clause 12 (J) has divided opinion on whether it infringes on freedom of speech, privacy, and the right to communication. The clause states, "For the purpose of investigating or inquiring into a crime, the details of a social media user must be provided to the concerned authorities. This means that the users' privacy will not be safeguarded. The user will be required to submit all their data to the relevant regulatory body. Failure to comply could result in a penalty ranging from NRs 2.5 million to NRs 10 million." Several provisions in the bill contradict Nepal's constitution, while vague and incomplete terminologies raise concerns. Critics fear the government will exploit these loopholes to interpret the law in its favor. Another major concern is the government's direct role as the plaintiff in all related cases, giving authorities greater control over how they define and enforce the law. The bill requires a Rapid Response Team to handle such proceedings. Typically, authorities form these teams when immediate action is needed in the public interest, such as during natural disasters. However, the government has introduced a provision to create one specifically for this purpose. The bill directly violates Articles 17 and 19 of the Constitution of Nepal. Article 17 guarantees the right to freedom, stating, "No person shall be deprived of personal liberty." However, the bill does more than restrict personal freedom--it actively penalises individuals for posting, sharing, liking, reposting, live streaming, subscribing, commenting, tagging, using hashtags, or mentioning others on social media. Clause 16 (2) of the bill explicitly prohibits individuals from engaging in these activities with malicious intent: "One must not post, share, like, repost, live stream, subscribe, comment, tag, use hashtags, or mention others on social media with malicious intent." While the bill clearly criminalizes liking or commenting, it fails to define "malicious intent" leaving its interpretation ambiguous. Since the bill does not clarify the term's scope or meaning, anyone accused under this provision could simply claim, "I had no malicious intent," making enforcement arbitrary and subjective. The bill creates a loophole that allows government officials to potentially avoid accountability. If they act against the bill's provisions, they can claim, "I did not act with malicious intent," when the provision is invoked. Whether they can escape responsibility remains unclear. The bill also includes a provision that allows for a fine of up to NRs 5,00,000. Article 19 of Nepal's Constitution guarantees the right to communication, stating, "No prior restriction shall be imposed on the publication or broadcast of any news, editorial, article, composition, or other written, audio, or audiovisual material through any medium such as electronic publishing, broadcasting, or printing."
